Straight bar knitting machine



July 15, 1947. w. G. MACDONALD sTRAmhT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 10, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet l FIGJL FIGZA.

Inventor By ./I-OLQI I or July 15, 1947.

w. G.- MACDONALD" STRAIGHT BAR KNIT'I ING MACHINE .Fi led May 10, 194

I 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor July 15, 1947. w. G. MACDONALD 5 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE I I Filed May 10, 1946 5 Sheet-Sheeft'li Invgnlor Mm 80 M. WML B i Hurney y 5 7- v G. MAC ZDO NALD 2,424,105

STRAIQHT BAR KIIIQMP'ING MACHINE Filed May 10, 1946 S SheetsSheet 4- FIG. 38-. l

I nuentor B I W July 15, 1947. w. G. MACDONALD STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 10, 1946 FIGBC.

Patented July 15, 1947 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE William Gordon MacDonald, Loughborough, England, ass-ignor to William Cotton Limited,

Loughborough, England Application May 10, 1946, Serial No. 668,828 In Great Britain March 14, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946.

2 Claims. 1

This invention concerns mechanism for shifting the carriers of Cottons patent and other straight bar knitting machines. One object of the invention is a mechanism for absorbing the shock when a carrier rod strikes the fixed part of the machine. In a Cottons patent and other straight bar knitting machine, it is common practice to employ a plurality of interchangeable carriers mounted on individual rods which are selectively driven between stops, through the medium of a friction box and driving bolts that are selectively engaged in recesses in driving lugs on the rods. When not in use, the carriers are retained in an idle or rest position beyond one or other of the selvedges and when a change in carriers is to be made, involving selecting a new carrier and bringing it from the rest position to a position at the selvedge ready for use, and taking the old carrier out from the selvedge to the rest position, a pegging-out bolt is selected from a plurality of such bolts and is engaged in a recess in a pegging-out lug, (additional to the lug by which the carrier is traversed to and fro in knitting), on the rod of the selected carrier and shifts the carrier in to the selvedge stop and then disengages from the recess. The discarded carrier is moved out from the selvedge to the rest position in a like manner. The pegging-out bolt must be disengaged from its recess at the moment when the rod of the introduced carrier strikes the selvedge stop and a further object of the present invention is to effect such improvements as permit this disengagement to be readily effected.

As viewed from one aspect, the invention provides, in or for a Cottons patent or other straight bar knitting machine, the combination with a carrier or a carrier rod, of a lug having a recess for the reception of a driving or shifting bolt which recess has at least one of its walls springmounted to yield under pressure of the bolt when heavy resistance is encountered. The invention further provides, in a straight bar knitting machine having a plurality of carriers, mechanism for bringing selected carriers inwards from an idle position to a ready position preparatory to use, said mechanism comprising a bolt movable into and out of engagement with 2. lug associated with the carrier; the combination with a lug having a recess for the reception of said bolt, of a springloaded side wall to said recess for engagement with the bolt in movement of the carrier to the ready position.

The foregoing and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the mechanism Which will now be de-.

scribed as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is an elevation showing the pegging out lugs of two carrier bars;

Figures 2A and 2B show a cross section through the pegging out mechanism at one end of a Cottons patent or other straight bar knitting machine;

Figures 3A, 3B, and 30 show a rear elevation of said mechanism,

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown at the right hand thereof a lug l, fixed to the carrier bar 2; said lug is cut through with a gap or recess 3 slightly Wider than the bolt end that is to be received therein and is also slotted at 4 midway in its thickness at right angles to the recess. This slot 4 houses a swivel plate 5. pivoted on an axle pin 6 that transfixes the slotted lug at a location between the base of the gap and the rod and approximately mid-way in the width of the gap; a margin of this swivel plate protrudes slightly into the gap from one side of the latter to form the face against which the bolt drives, the degree of protrusion being adjustably determined by a stop screw 7 in the lug. The plate 5 is pressed, against the screw 7, into its protruding position by a strong compression-spring 8 housed within a bore in the lug.

The arrangement is such that in the shifting of the carrier the bolt drives against the swivel plate 5 and the spring 8 does not yield, but if the carrier rod strikes a fixed part of the machine the bolt pressure causes the plate and spring to yield slightly so as to reduce shock and to permit the bolt to be disengaged from the recess.

The side of the gap opposite the protruding plate may be the longer one of the two sides and the edge of the lug may afford an incline leading to the short side of the gap.

In general, it is found convenient to have the rest position for certain of the carriers beyond one selvedge and that for the other carriers to be on the other selvedge, but to provide the rods of both sets of carriers with pegging-out lugs at one and the same end of the machine where they are placed to be operated upon by a common peggingout mechanism. Since the introduction from the rest position, of those carriers which are positioned beyond the left hand selvedge involves their movement to the right while introduction of those carriers which are positioned beyond the right hand selvedge involves their movement to the left, the pegging-out lugs on the two sets of carrier rods are spaced apart at that end of the machine at which the pegging-out mechanism is provided. Thus in Figure 1, one lug is shown at the right hand end of a carrier rod I, while another lug is shown spaced to the left of it on a second carrier rod located behind the first, and the attitudes of these lugs are reversed. That is to say, since the lug on the right requires to be moved to the left by the pegging-out bolt to introduce its carrier, the spring-loaded side wall is at the left of the recess, and since the lug on the left requires to be driven to the right to introduce its carrier, the spring-loaded side wall is located on the right of its recess.

In Figure 2A a group of such carrier rods is embraced by the bracket 2A and their associated pegging-out bolts are embraced by the bracket 9a. These pegging-out bolts are carried in a box II] which is slidable to and fro on shafts I I and I 2 by means hereinafter described, togethe with patterning mechanism I3 by which the peggingout bolts are selected for operation through the medium of stud levers I4. The drum I3 of the patterning mechanism is keyed to slide along the shaft I2 and the latter is racked at appropriate intervals to effect a further selection by means of racking mechanism indicated enerally at I5.

The pegging-out mechanism thus far described is driven to and fro along the shafts I I and I2 from the slur cock tie bar I6 by means of a driving tongue I! depending from the box I and arranged to be engaged so as to be driven to the right or the left by one or another of two driving studs I8, I9, carried by rock members 20, 2I, respectively, which are mounted on a spindle 22 fixed in brackets 23 secured to the tie bar IS. The rock members 20, 2I, are normally held in a position in which the driving members I8 and I9 are inoperative by means of a horizontal pin 22 which transfixes the interposed rock member 25 and which is held in a raised position by the engagement of a truck 26 on an arm 2'1 of rock member 25, with a rail 23. This rail 28 is carried by a pair of levers 29 from a rock shaft 30 which is arranged to be rocked at the appropriate time to move the rail 28 to the inoperative position by means of lever 3| operable by a cam disc 32 associated with the racking mechanism I and connections 33.

-When the rail 28 is moved to the inoperable position it permits the rock members 20, 2I, to make a clockwise movement (Figure 213). about theirspindle 22 under the influence of springs 34, Driving pins I8, I9 therefore swing towards a po sition in which one or other of them is placed to drive the tongue II. The parts being in the position shown in the drawings, the pin I8 swings to a position in register with the left hand end of the tongue I! while the pin I9 rests against the front face of the tongue in an inoperative position. On travel of the tie bar IE to the right, pin I8 therefore drives the pegging-out mechanism to the right along shafts II and I2 until the truck 35 on arm 31 projecting from. rock member 28 is engaged and lifted by a ramp 39, thereby disengaging pin I8 so that the pegging-out mechanism comes to a standstill. Thereafter continued travel of the tie bar I6 results in the driving pin I9 reaching the right hand end of the tongue I! and swinging into register with it so that in the return travel of the tie bar, to the left (which may take place in the next draw or may be deferred to a subsequent draw, as determined by its respective trucks 35 or 36.

These to and fro movements of the pegging-out mechanism effect the pegging-in and pegging-out of the carriers (which are shifted through the selected bolts 9A). The said movements have a constant amplitude which is determined by the distance between the ramps 39 and III), but it will be appreciated that as the selvedge stops are adjusted, the distance between the rest position and the selvedge will vary so that the distance through which a carrier has to be shifted into or out of the rest position will nearly always differ from the constant amplitude of traverse of the peggingout mechanism. For this purpose mechanism is provided for disengaging the selected pegging-out bolt of group BA from its lug I at that stage in the traverse of the pegging-out mechanism whereat the appropriate carrier reaches its selvedge stop. This mechanism comprises ramps M and &2 carried respectively by brackets 43 and M adjustable along a shaft 45 in the conformity with the adjustment of the two selvedge stops by means of rods 46, &1 connected to said stops. On the pegging-out mechanism there is a truck lever 58 pivoted on 49 and carrying a truck 50 placed to be lifted by either ramp AI, 42 and this truck lever 48 has an extension 4811 which extends over the group of stud levers I4 by which the pegging-out bolts 9A are selected. Therefore when truck 50 is lifted by either ramp 4| or 42 it raises the operative pegging-out bolt from its position in which it is engaged with the lug I of the carrier under consideration.

Obviously, the lifting of the operative bolt (being effected by an incline as the draw proceeds) cannot be instantaneous and absolutely coincident with the impact of the rod (of that carrier which is being pegged-in) with the selvedge stop and at the moment of impact the bolt may'not be wholly withdrawn from the recess 3 in its lug I. Under these circumstances the resilient yielding of the swivel element 5 against which the bolt presses permits the safe withdrawal of the bolt from the stationary lug.

I claim:

1. In or for a Cottons patent or other straight bar knitting machine, the combination, with a carrier or carrier rod, of a driving lug having a recess for the reception of a driving bolt which recess has at least one of its walls spring-mounted to yield under pressure of the bolt when heavy resistance is encountered.

2. In a straight bar knitting machine having a plurality of carriers and mechanism for bringing selected carriers inwards from an idle position to a ready position preparatory to use, said mechanism comprising a bolt movable into and out of engagement with a lug associated with the carrier; the combination, with a lug having a recess for the reception of said bolt, of a springloaded side wall to said recess for engagement with the bolt,

WILLIAM GORDON MACDONALD. 

